About

Known credits:
89
Birthday:
1891-03-15
Place of birth:
Jacksonville, Illinois, USA
Website:
N/A

Charles Ray

Overview

From Wikipedia

Charles Edgar Ray (March 15, 1891 – November 23, 1943) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Ray rose to fame during the mid-1910s portraying young wholesome hicks in silent comedy films.

Ray was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and moved to Springfield as a child where he attended elementary school. He then moved to Arizona for a time before finally relocating to Los Angeles where he finished his education. He initially began his career on the stage before working for director Thomas H. Ince as a film extra in December 1912. He appeared in several bit parts before moving on to supporting roles. Ray's break came in 1915 when he appeared opposite Frank Keenan in the historical war drama The Coward.

Ray's popularity increased after appearing in a series of films which cast him in juvenile roles, primarily young hicks or "country bumpkins" that foiled the plans of thieves or con men. In March 1917, he signed with Paramount Pictures and resumed working with director Thomas H. Ince. By 1920, he was earning a reported $11,000 a week. Around this time, he left Paramount after studio head Adolph Zukor refused to give him a pay raise. Zukor later wrote in his autobiography The Public Is Never Wrong, that Ray's ego had gotten out of hand and that Ray "...was headed for trouble and  did not care to be with him when he found it." After leaving Paramount, Ray formed his own production company, Charles Ray Productions, and also used his fortune to purchase a studio in Los Angeles where he began producing and shooting his own films.

On November 23, 1943, Ray died of a mouth and throat infection at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for which he had been hospitalized six weeks prior.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Charles Ray has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6355 Hollywood Boulevard.

Known for

Acting
1961 The Legend of Rudolph Valentino Actor Self (archive footage) N/A
N/A
1943 Slightly Dangerous Actor Opera patron (uncredited) 59
Average
1942 Mrs. Miniver Actor Man getting on Bus (uncredited) 62
Fair
1942 The Mad Martindales Actor Barbershop Customer (uncredited) 58
Average
1942 Rio Rita Actor Hotel Guest (uncredited) 58
Average
1941 Appointment for Love Actor Butler (uncredited) 58
Average
1941 The Lady from Cheyenne Actor Bit Role 58
Average
1941 The Man Who Lost Himself Actor (uncredited) 58
Average
1936 Hollywood Boulevard Actor Charlie Smith - Assistant Director 58
Average
1935 Just My Luck Actor Homer Crow N/A
N/A
1935 Welcome Home Actor Andrew Carr N/A
N/A
1934 Ticket to a Crime Actor Courtney Mallory 59
Average
1934 By Your Leave Actor Leonard Purcell 58
Average
1934 The Camera Speaks Actor Self (archive footage) 59
Average
1934 Ladies Should Listen Actor Henri, the porter 58
Average
1934 School for Girls Actor Duke 59
Average
1931 Stars of Yesterday Actor Self N/A
N/A
1931 The House That Shadows Built Actor (archive footage) 59
Average
1928 The Garden of Eden Actor Richard Dupont 59
Average
1927 Vanity Actor Lt. Lloyd Van Courtland N/A
N/A
1927 Getting Gertie's Garter Actor Ken Walrick 59
Average
1927 The American Actor Bill Smith N/A
N/A
1926 The Fire Brigade Actor Terry O'Neil 58
Average
1926 The Auction Block Actor Bob Wharton N/A
N/A
1926 Paris Actor Jerry 58
Average
1926 Sweet Adeline Actor Ben Wilson N/A
N/A
1925 Bright Lights Actor Tom Corbin N/A
N/A
1925 Percy Actor Percival Rogeen N/A
N/A
1924 Dynamite Smith Actor Gladstone Smith N/A
N/A
1923 The Courtship of Miles Standish Actor John Alden N/A
N/A
1923 The Girl I Loved Actor John Middleton N/A
N/A
1922 A Tailor-Made Man Actor John Paul Bart N/A
N/A
1922 The Deuce of Spades Actor Amos N/A
N/A
1922 Gas, Oil and Water Actor George Oliver Watson N/A
N/A
1921 The Old Swimmin' Hole Actor Ezra Hull N/A
N/A
1920 An Old Fashioned Boy Actor David Warrington 58
Average
1920 A Village Sleuth Actor William Wells N/A
N/A
1920 45 Minutes from Broadway Actor Kid Burns N/A
N/A
1920 Homer Comes Home Actor Homer Cavender N/A
N/A
1920 Paris Green Actor Luther Green N/A
N/A
1920 Alarm Clock Andy Actor Andrew Gray N/A
N/A
1919 The Egg Crate Wallop Actor Jim Kelly N/A
N/A
1919 Bill Henry Actor Bill Henry Jenkins N/A
N/A
1919 Hay Foot, Straw Foot Actor Ulysses S. Grant Briggs N/A
N/A
1919 The Busher Actor Ben Harding 58
Average
1919 Greased Lightning Actor Andy Fletcher 59
Average
1919 The Sheriff's Son Actor Royal Beaudry N/A
N/A
1919 The Girl Dodger Actor Cuthbert Trotman N/A
N/A
1918 String Beans Actor Toby Watkins N/A
N/A
1918 The Law of the North Actor Alain de Montcalm N/A
N/A
1918 The Claws of the Hun Actor John Stanton N/A
N/A
1918 His Own Home Town Actor Jimmy Duncan N/A
N/A
1918 Playing the Game Actor Larry Prentiss N/A
N/A
1918 The Family Skeleton Actor Billy Bates N/A
N/A
1918 The Hired Man Actor Ezry Hollins N/A
N/A
1918 Staking His Life Actor Frank Hamilton N/A
N/A
1917 His Mother's Boy Actor Matthew Denton N/A
N/A
1917 The Son of His Father Actor Gordon Carbhoy N/A
N/A
1917 Sudden Jim Actor James Ashe, Jr. N/A
N/A
1917 The Clodhopper Actor Everett Nelson 58
Average
1917 The Millionaire Vagrant Actor Steven Du Peyster N/A
N/A
1917 The Pinch Hitter Actor Joel Parker N/A
N/A
1917 Back of the Man Actor Larry Thomas N/A
N/A
1917 The Weaker Sex Actor Jack Harding N/A
N/A
1916 Plain Jane Actor Mr. 'John Sophomore Adams' N/A
N/A
1916 The Wolf Woman Actor Rex Walden N/A
N/A
1916 Home Actor Bob Wheaton N/A
N/A
1916 Honor Thy Name Actor N/A
N/A
1916 The Deserter Actor Lieutenant Parker N/A
N/A
1916 The Dividend Actor Frank Steele N/A
N/A
1916 Peggy Actor Colin Cameron N/A
N/A
1915 The Forbidden Adventure Actor Cecil Weatherby N/A
N/A
1915 The Coward Actor Frank Winslow 59
Average
1915 The Lure of Woman Actor Captain Lane N/A
N/A
1915 The Conversion of Frosty Blake Actor Reverend Horace Brightray N/A
N/A
1915 The Renegade Actor Captain Marley N/A
N/A
1915 The Cup of Life Actor John Ward N/A
N/A
1915 The Grudge Actor Dick Wayne N/A
N/A
1915 In the Tennessee Hills Actor Jim Carson N/A
N/A
1914 The Gangsters and the Girl Actor Detective John Stone N/A
N/A
1913 For Mother's Sake Actor N/A
N/A
1913 The Quakeress Actor John Hart - the Schoolmaster N/A
N/A
1913 Old Mammy's Secret Code Actor David N/A
N/A
1913 The Transgressor Actor Jim N/A
N/A
1913 The Boomerang Actor Lt. Calhoun N/A
N/A
1913 The Grey Sentinel Actor Hal Peters N/A
N/A

Directing
1922 The Deuce of Spades Directing Director N/A
N/A
1922 Gas, Oil and Water Directing Director N/A
N/A

Writing
1914 The Gangsters and the Girl Writing Writer N/A
N/A